146 The Principles of Vegetable- Gardening 



In vegetable -garden seeds there need be little fear 

 that many weeds will be introduced. Such seeds are 

 sold in small quantities and they are most carefully 

 cleaned. Adulterations are apparent. There is so 

 much competition in the seed business that it rarely 

 pays to take the risk of sending out dirty or adulter- 

 ated seeds. Even if weeds were to be introduced, the 

 thinning and tillage of a vegetable - garden would eradi- 

 cate them. The greatest risk in the buying of seeds 

 is the chance that they may not be true to name or 

 that, if true to name, the particular strain may not be 

 the best. If a dealer sells seeds which are true to the 

 variety, he has satisfied the requirements of the law 

 and perhaps of trade ; but his seeds may still be in- 

 ferior to his neighbor's. There are differences within 

 varieties which may make all the difference between 

 profit and loss. If the grower wants to be very sure 

 of his product, it is not enough that he buy seeds of 

 Winnigstadt cabbage : he should know what kind of 

 Winnigstadt he is buying. There is no way of test- 

 ing the seed except to raise the crop. One must, 

 therefore, rely on his seedsman. This he can do with 

 safety if he selects a reliable seedsman and if he is 

 willing to pay a fair price for his seeds. The cheap- 

 est seeds may be the dearest. 



The testing of seeds for viability, or for the ability 

 to grow, is preferably made in the soil under uniform 

 conditions. The best place for the test is in a green- 

 house, but the living-room of a dwelling house may 

 answer very well. Use a ^^flat" (Fig. 45) or other 

 shallow box or earthenware pan (Fig. 34) . As a rule, 



